Best New Phones Coming in 2018 & Beyond

The Chinese market is pumping out some incredible smartphones to take on the likes of Apple and Samsung, and there is still more to come. If you're in the market for a new phone, we'll help you decide whether or not to wait. These are the best new smartphones coming in the next few months.

Best New OnePlus Phones

Yesterday OnePlus unveiled its OnePlus 6T, which goes on sale on 6 November. The next OnePlus phone will be the OnePlus 7, and likely to arrive in June 2019.

Key new features in the OnePlus 6T include an in-display fingerprint sensor and a reduced screen notch, while the headphone jack has been removed paving the way for USB-C audio. It's otherwise not an enormous upgrade over the OnePlus 6.

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Yesterday OnePlus unveiled its OnePlus 6T, which goes on sale on 6 November. The next OnePlus phone will be the OnePlus 7, and likely to arrive in June 2019.

Key new features in the OnePlus 6T include an in-display fingerprint sensor and a reduced screen notch, while the headphone jack has been removed paving the way for USB-C audio. It's otherwise not an enormous upgrade over the OnePlus 6.

Best New Honor Phones

On 31 October Honor will announce its Magic 2, a cool-looking smartphone with a gorgeous iridescent rear cover and an even fancier sliding-screen mechanism at the front. It works very much like the recently announced Mi Mix 3 from Xiaomi, offering an unblemished full-view panel and sliding down to reveal the selfie camera - but here there are three, plus another three at the back.

Honor will also fit the 7nm Kirin 980 processor - the same chip as in the Huawei Mate 20 series - and an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Best New Xiaomi Phones

We've long been fans of Xiaomi smartphones, which offer fantastic value for money, excellent build quality and premium specifications. But Xiaomi just got a lot more exciting because it's officially launching in the UK on 8 November AND you'll be able to get Xiaomi phones on contract through 3 from 9 November.

We don't know what will be the first Xiaomi phones to come to the UK, but its recent launches of the Mi 8 Lite and Pro, which now join the growing Mi 8 family, and the Mi Mix 3 are almost certainly going to be popular choices. As are the Android One-powered A2 and A2 Lite.

Announced on 25 October, the Mi Mix 3 is perhaps the most interesting - and seems to have a lot in common with the Honor Magic 2. It's running the same core hardware as the Mi Mix 2S, but the Mi Mix 3 goes for a truly bezel-less design with a sliding-screen mechanism that is used to answer phone calls, access app shortcuts and launch the new 24Mp + 2Mp selfie camera.

With smaller bezels Xiaomi has been able to increase the screen size to 6.39in, and it has also made some enhancements to wireless charging (now 10W, with a wireless charger in the box) and the primary camera, which has the same spec but uses a new algorithm.

The Mi Mix 3 will be available in Onyx Black, Jade Green and Sapphire Blue, in 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage models. There is also a Palace Museum edition with 10GB RAM and 256GB storage, while a 5G version of the phone is expected to be announced in Q1 2019.

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Best New Apple iPhones

There is an Apple event scheduled for 30 October, but it's not for phones. We won't see any new iPhones now until September 2019, making this a great time to buy if you're looking for an iOS rather than Android smartphone.

Apple has already announced its 2018 updates to its iPhone line with the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR.

As anticipated, the XS models feature 5.8- and 6.5in OLED 'Super Retina HD' screens, while the XR has a 6.1in LCD 'Liquid Retina' display. Each follows the design introduced by last year's iPhone X, and builds in the 7nm Apple A12 Bionic processor - a chip it says is faster than anything else on the market.

There have also been tweaks to photography and battery life, while the two XS models have been upgraded from IP67 to IP68 waterproofing. All three support Qi wireless charging.

Best New Samsung Phones

We've got until February to wait for the Galaxy S10 (and even longer for the Note 10, due in August), but there's at least one more exciting Samsung launch to come in the meantime.

The foldable Galaxy X, which will be phenomenally expensive and probably reasonably difficult to get hold of (but did we mention it was foldable?) will be arriving imminently, with some sources pointing to a November launch and others January 2019.

The other date to put in your diary is 24 February for the Galaxy S10 and S10+ announcement. There could even be four models this time around, with a 5G version promised alongside options with 5.8-, 6.2- and 6.44in screens.

We'll see the Infinity Display once again, but an upgraded version with a built-in fingerprint sensor. Cameras will also get a boost with up to two at the front and three at the rear.

Best New Google Phones

Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL went on sale on 1 November, and you shouldn't expect any new Google phones until October 2019 when we'll see the Pixel 4. That means it's now a great time to buy if you're looking for a pure Android experience.

As well as sporting updated internals, the Pixel 3 looks to improve on the amazing camera featured on 2017’s Google Pixel 2 and provide a better, more helpful Google Assistant experience.

Both smartphones feature a single 12.2Mp camera with an f/1.8 aperture on the rear, while the front-facing camera is a dual-sensor offering. It features dual-8Mp snappers with f/1.8 aperture, putting the focus on selfies with the introduction of Group Selfie cam, providing a wide-angle lens for better group selfies.

The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL largely feature the same built-in tech. The only real difference is the display - not only in terms of size but technology and design, too. The Pixel 3 sports a 5.5in Full-HD+ (2160x1080) 18:9 AMOLED screen without a notch, though the smartphone does have a bit of a forehead. The larger Pixel 3 XL features a 6.3in Quad-HD+ (2960x1440) POLED edge-to-edge screen with a notch, providing a more bezel-less experience.

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Best New LG phones

The LG V40 ThinQ arrived on 3 October, but it has not yet been confirmed whether or not it will make its way to the UK.

Ahead of launch the company confirmed that it would feature 'Stereo Boombox' speakers and a Quad DAC, and five cameras altogether, so the launch held few surprises.

Three are found at the rear, with LG fitting a 12Mp, f/1.5, 1.4um pixel lens, a 16Mp, f/1.9 1.0um pixel ultra-wide lens, and a 12Mp, f/2.4, 1.0um pixel 2x telephoto lens. At the front are two selfie cameras, rated at 8Mp and 5Mp.

Expect an LG G8 to arrive in February at MWC.

Best New Huawei Phones

Following the IFA 2018 launch of the Mate 20 Lite, Huawei confirmed the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro on 16 October. The catch is only the Pro is coming to the UK, but to be fair that's the one we wanted anyway!

We've already written a pretty thorough hands-on review of the Mate 20 Pro, which went on sale on 26 October, but to sum up this looks to be one of the best Android phones around with a 6.3in curved OLED 19.5:9 2K display, 7nm Kirin 980 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB storage (with microSD support), triple rear cameras, fast wired- and wireless charging and in-display fingerprint sensor.

There won't be another Huawei Mate launch until October 2019, but we should see updates to the P20 line with a P30 and P30 Pro/Lite announcement in March 2019.

Other Exciting New Phones Coming Soon

One that's been rumoured for a long time (we're talking years) is the Microsoft Surface Phone (pictured), though now it might actually become a reality in the form of Andromeda. While its Surface line currently consists primarily of laptops and tablet-laptop devices, Andromeda might instead be a mash-up of phone and laptop. A dual-screen, hinged device, the Surface Phone is expected to arrive in 2019.

A follow-up to the original Razer gaming smartphone was announced on 10 October, adding new features and piling on the performance. You can check out our hands-on review of the Razer Phone 2, which went on sale 26 October.

Sony at IFA 2018 announced its next flagship, the Xperia XZ3, which went on sale 5 October, which means we should see an Xperia XZ4 at February's MWC 2019.

Exactly when Nokia will decide to take the wraps off the Nokia 9 and Nokia 10 is really anyone's guess, since it was the Nokia 7.1 that starred at its 4 October event. The company usually makes a splash at MWC, which will in 2019 be held from 25 February.